Living out ‘response ability’
Rolla Presbyterian Manor
By Mary Bridges, chaplain NOVEMBER 2021
Residents share what they’re thankful for Many Rolla Presbyterian Manor residents seem to intuitively understand the value of giving thanks. In recent years, experts in positive psychology have reported a link between gratitude and better mental, physical and emotional well-being. But the Presbyterian Manor residents we spoke to discussed thankfulness as a lifelong practice, often centered around prayer. Residents Joyce Tucket, Janet Brown, Fern Seest, Forrest O’Neal and Mary Ellen Bailey all give thanks to God when they pray. “When I say my prayers, I give thanks,” Joyce said — it’s just that simple for her and the other residents with whom we spoke. When Forrest prays, he thanks God specifically for his guidance and help.
Fern Seest
In addition to her prayers, Fern also contemplates her blessings when she’s talking to herself. For her, thankfulness comes “automatically.” We found common themes in what residents are thankful for, both over the course of their lives and since the beginning of the pandemic. When Joyce looks back on her life, she is thankful to be alive after a battle with cancer. She’s also grateful for her husband, her three daughters and her parents.
My father, Henry, was an eighthgrade graduate and smarter than anyone I have known. He was a lifelong Lutheran. He did not verbalize his faith or quote scripture; he simply lived it, every day. He cared for my grandmother when she lived alone. She was eventually diagnosed with dementia and moved into a nursing home. My father continued to visit her, even though she didn’t recognize him and no longer spoke. My father loved the land. After he retired from active farming, he leased a small amount of land north of Russell on Salt Creek. There he had a huge garden, and he shared his garden produce with everyone. One year, he raised turkeys. That November, he and my mom cleaned and dressed more than 20 turkeys, which my father distributed to family, friends and people he knew were struggling. He reserved one of those turkeys for a man who stopped to help my father change a tire earlier that year. That Thanksgiving season, and every day, my father exercised what the
Response ability
After the last couple of years, she is
Thankful – continued on page 2
NOTE: Our featured chaplain for November is Mary Bridges, chaplain at Salina Presbyterian Manor. Each month, we share a devotion from one of the chaplains around the PMMA® system in a nod to our faith-based roots in the Presbyterian Church.
– continued on page 2 Forrest O’Neal
Get the latest on visitation and COVID-19 at our campus at RollaPresbyterianManor.org/covid-19.
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Thankful – continued from page 1 simply thankful to be alive and in good health. Janet strikes a similar note, thankful for, “the most wonderful parents,” and for her loving husband and three daughters. Since the beginning of the pandemic, she gives thanks that she lives in a safe place, for her friends and for the company that has visited her. Fern is thankful she gets to see her family and that her health has improved recently.
Joyce Tucker
Mary Ellen Bailey
“I’m better than I was,” she said. “I can Mary Ellen is thankful she became a use my left arm.” Christian when she was 10 years old. Like the others, Forrest is grateful for She feels grateful for God’s love and his family. He thanks God for the for the devotion of her parents, who nursing team that has cared for him taught her to give thanks, especially since the beginning of the pandemic. before meals. More recently, she is thankful that Presbyterian Manor
was “strict and vigilant” about COVID-19.
Response ability
Thanksgivings. I will close with more wisdom from Rev. Fairchild: “In the hard times you see, we still have so much, we have life, no matter how slenderly we may hold to it, we have family and friends, no matter how scattered, we have community, no matter how it is organized and we have the presence of God and the promise of Jesus Christ that when we seek first God’s kingdom and God’s righteous-ness, that all that we need will be added unto it.” u
– continued from page 1 Rev. Richard J. Fairchild calls our, “response ability” that is the result of His goodness. “Our ancestors in faith — from Sarah to Mary and from Abraham to Jesus all were convinced that God is the source of everything, and that by graciously giving all things to us, God provides us with a response ability,” Fairchild writes.
That’s the ability to respond to God and to others, Fairchild says. God hopes we will use this ability “for the good that he intends for us and for the good that he intends for our neighbors and our world.” My father grasped this innately, and we all felt it: his family and his neighbors, certainly, and I firmly believe he showed the world God’s great goodness. I wish you the happiest of
Fern surely speaks for so many of us in her wish that the pandemic be over by Thanksgiving. That is something we would all be thankful for! u
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Community Matters 573-364-7336 ◆ Fax: 573-364-7495 1200 Homelife Plaza Rolla, MO 65401-2595 RollaPresbyterianManor.org
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | November 2021
is published monthly for residents and friends of Rolla Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: lfreeland@PMMA.org Ann Caudill, executive director Joelle Freeland, marketing director
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
Presbyterian Manor staff find time to be thankful, even during difficult times We wanted to celebrate the season of thanks by talking about how our team has persevered and found ways to be thankful, even during the hardships the community suffered during the pandemic. For insight, we turned to two employees who have been members of the Rolla Presbyterian Manor community for more than two decades: Bernadette Royal and Theresa Wood. “I have been with Rolla Presbyterian Manor for 22 years,” said Bernadette, who works as a certified medical technician. “When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was hard on everyone. We worried about our families at home, but we also worried about our work family — both coworkers and residents.” Bernadette said that, even though it was a stressful time, her coworkers pulled together and worked extra shifts to ensure that everyone was cared for. She said they were there for one another and always knew they were in it together. Staff provided extra time off for each other after working long shifts. It’s not the first time the Presbyterian Manor community has supported her. Two years ago, residents and coworkers, along with her family and friends, were there for Bernadette when she was diagnosed with cancer. “They kept me motivated, encouraged me to continue
Theresa Wood
treatment and to battle cancer,” she said. It’s one of the things in her life she is most grateful for.
able to find gratitude in her ability to get up every day and make a difference in someone else’s life.
“I thank God every day for the people in my life: the man who loves and cares for me, my children, grandchildren, family and friends,” Bernadette said. “I am especially thankful for my work family. Because of them I am able to hold my head up and keep doing what I do.”
“I’m thankful that I can be a voice of encouragement and a confidante to the residents here,” she said.
Theresa Wood is thankful to be working at Presbyterian Manor in a job she loves: taking care of the residents. Although the pandemic has been challenging, she has been
Theresa is also grateful for the residents, her friends and her family. She points out that it’s important to not just think about what we’re thankful for — she feels strongly that we need to let people know how important they are to us. Thanks to Bernadette and Theresa for sharing your thankful spirits with our community. u
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | November 2021